I went to a work dinner with Mr. Wolfman on Sunday. The new owners of his business, a group of mostly-childless retirement-aged people, decided that Easter Sunday was a good day to get together with business partners and employees. Since Mr. Wolfman and I aren't religious, and it meant I didn't have to cook, I figured whatever, so I went.
The little monster was asleep when we got there, so I parked his stroller in the corner, out of the way, and stood close by. Probably ten times, various women either came up and asked if he was awake yet, or went and poked their head in the stroller.
When he did wake up, this woman, who I'd met when I came in maybe 20 mins before (and who I hadn't even spoken to beyond exchanging names) rushed over. Then she held out her hands to take the monster from me.
I was so shocked, I just stared at her.
With her hands still stretched out, she said, "Oh, he looks so happy." and then, moving to take him from me, "Maybe he can come to me."
I dodged her and said, "He's just waking up." Which was all I could think to say.
She stood there with her hands out until a colleague of my husband's, N* suggested maybe later. Grabby Hands gave me one more pleading look, then got all butt hurt and wandered off.
She was the worst, but everyone just kept coming up and touching his hands and looking longingly at him. As a result, the people who I would have let hold him didn't get to, because I knew it would turn into a round of pass the baby.
The other weird thing that happened at the dinner was some weirdo trying to give the monster an egg to play with. Like, an actual egg. There were these loaves of bread as centre pieces with dyed hard-boiled eggs in them. A new colleague of Mr. Wolfman's (not N*) who I hadn't met before pulled a bright orange egg, covered in bread bits out of the loaf and held it out to the monster from across the table.
I thought she was showing it to him, which I thought was weird, but whatever, I'm not going to police what someone shows my baby from a distance.
Then she starts waving it around and going "Here, here" and leaning closer, so I told her, clearly, "He can't have that."
She kept holding it out to him, while N repeated that he couldn't have it, and said it was covered in stuff. I probably repeated twice more that he couldn't have it, while she kept holding it out to him.
She got really indignant and said, "It's just bread!"
I said he can't have bread, or eggs, so she starts picking all the bits of bread off it, then tries to give it to him again. My monster wasn't even remotely interested in it, or I would have said or done more. But it was so weird, that even after I'd said no repeatedly, she just kept trying. I learned in the course of dinner that she has a kid, so I guess that makes her an expert on what is/isn't safe to give to my 6 month old baby.
Eventually, N just took it from her, and put it on her own plate.
Chick got all sulky and muttered "Fine."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I hate people. I seriously need to dig out my mama bear and get her claws shined up. The next person who doesn't listen when I say no is going to have Hell to pay.
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